I was confident of making it one day

Unlike many film enthusiasts who skip studies to pursue their filmmaking passion, ‘Galipatam’ director Naveen Gandhi has a post graduate degree (MA sociology) to his credit. While he has his roots in Nalgonda, he completed his education in Anantapur, his mother’s birthplace. “I belong to two states,” he smiles.

The ‘Galipatam’ director Naveen Gandhi is on cloud nine these days with the success of the film

Right after his PG, he landed in Hyderabad and worked as both a teacher and a freelance journalist for a brief period before deciding to take the plunge into filmmaking. “I began my career by assisting for ‘Navvulata’. I later assisted the likes of Raghavendra Rao, SS Rajamouli and Rajeev Menon. I worked for Menon’s company for six years,” says the director who happens to be ‘Racha’ director Sampath Nandi’s best buddy.

“He was into writing whereas I was into direction. We were roommates and know each other very well. After ‘Racha’, he wanted me to direct ‘Galipatam’ for him,” says the director who is receiving praise for the way he handled the film, a tale of an unhappy married couple who embark on a journey to re-unite with their former love interests.

“People are saying that it’s ahead of its time. It is inspired by the day-to-day happenings in the lives of software employees. We’ve even written some portions after interacting with our friends. Sampath and I got to see hundreds of characters like Aadi who yearn to live independently in this age; their happiness counts the most for them,” shares Naveen.

Having honed his filmmaking skills under Rajeev Menon, Naveen holds the ace cinematographer in high regards. “He taught me to be a perfectionist,” he says. “In an ad film each shot is of utmost importance. We only shoot four-five shots a day and each shot is crafted like a painting with extreme care. I learnt how to frame a particular shot from him,” says the director who never felt the urge to flee the industry during his struggling days.

“Even though I secured many jobs during my struggling phase, I was confident of making it one day. Some people get that ‘elusive’ chance early whereas some won’t; it all depends on the time. As far as money is concerned I was self-sufficient because I was into ad films besides script writing.”